INDIANAPOLIS — Things looked bleak for the Steelers with Joe Haden hobbling around on the sideline after suffering a fractured fibula, as Mike Tomlin would confirm after the 20-17 win over the Colts.
But fellow corner Artie Burns said he only expected Haden to miss a few weeks, which could put him in line for a return when the Steelers face the Patriots on Dec. 17. And that's all anyone really cares about anyway.
Coty Sensabaugh, Haden's replacement, held up fine in this game and even made a big play on a pass breakup against T.Y. Hilton late in the fourth quarter. Sensabaugh will now get an opportunity to play on a regular basis -- at least for a few weeks -- while Haden heals. This is why the Steelers went out and acquired veterans such as Sensabaugh and defensive end Tyson Alualu in the offseason -- to improve their depth. They didn't want to have to turn to young, untested players when the injury bug hit.
Alualu has gotten plenty of playing time subbing for Stephon Tuitt. Now, it's time to turn a lonely eye to Sensabaugh.
"It’s going to take some other guys to step up," Cameron Heyward told me when I asked about the loss of Haden. "I don’t know who yet, Coty Sensabaugh, we’ve got some other young guys, but it’s going to take a unit to do it. Joe is a helluva player. Joe’s not going to be stingy. He’s going to tell them what they need to know. They’ll hold it down for some weeks until Joe gets back."
It's interesting that it will be Sensabaugh in a week in which the Steelers play the Titans on Thursday. He began his career with Tennessee, leaving as a free agent after the 2015 season. The Rams signed him to a three-year, $14.5-million contract in 2016 but cut him after four games. He then signed with the Giants and became their starting slot corner for the remainder of the season.
"People act like, in my career, I’ve been all over," Sensabaugh said. "I was in one place for four years. Last year, I was in a weird situation with one team. I’m probably the only player in history on a three-year deal to get cut after four games. It’s all good. And then, when I went to that other team, we beat that team that cut me. But it’s all good."
He'll get another opportunity to face a former team Thursday.
"This will be my first time," he told me. "I’m looking forward to it."
1. Ben was finally Ben.
Ben Roethlisberger didn't play his best game of the season. He got off to a very slow start. But he did show he's still capable of leading a fourth-quarter comeback. Sunday's comeback was the 41st of his career and 30th in the fourth quarter.
Yes, it was against the Colts. And yes, they have an awful defense. And the Steelers certainly shouldn't have put themselves in that position in the first place. But a comeback is a comeback. And Roethlisberger hadn't had one of those this season.
2. The four-man rush is a work in progress.
Tomlin and Keith Butler want to get to the quarterback with four pass rushers. But the Steelers weren't getting enough pressure until they started blitzing more in the second half. That also made the four-man rush more effective when they started hitting Jacoby Brissett a little more often.
The Steelers are going to need to continue to mix things up. But they also need to be able to get there with four players, especially later this season against Tom Brady.
3. The Steelers have protection problems on special teams.
Part of the reason the Steelers have not been happy with Jesse James is because of his blocking on special teams for punts and field goals:
James earned all the kudos for his hustle to get downfield to make the tackle on this blocked PAT Sunday. But if he would actually, you know, block somebody on the outside, it wouldn't have been needed.
4. Tomlin showed some chutzpah.
The Steelers messed up a two-point conversion to try to tie the game early in the fourth quarter -- twice. That shouldn't happen.
But guys were lining up in the wrong spots all over the field. Roethlisberger had to call a timeout. Then, the Steelers were forced to take a delay of game penalty when they couldn't get lined up correctly again.
Rip away at that one, Tomlin and Todd Haley haters. It's fair game.
But Tomlin showed faith in his offense by having it again go for the two-point try despite being on the 7. Haley wanted to go ahead and kick. Tomlin, however, correctly surmised that there was no difference between being down two points or one at that point. But tying the game, on the other hand, was meaningful.
5. Artie, Artie, Artie ...
Artie Burns bit on a play-action fake early in this game to be beaten for a 60-yard touchdown catch by Donte Moncrief. He continues to have a play or two like this -- though not always for a TD -- in every game.
Burns has plenty of talent. But it's easy to forget he's still a work in progress.
He did do a really nice job on a jet sweep later in the game, holding the point to limit it to a 3-yard gain. Again, the talent is there. It just needs to be more consistent.
6. A win is a win.
No matter how you look at it, the Steelers again found a way to win Sunday, despite not playing anything close to a good game, especially in the first half.
At one point, Roethlisberger had completed 3-of-9 passes for a passer rating of 2.8. But he heated up when he went to the no-huddle late in the first half.
It's funny because Roethlisberger mentioned the no-huddle offense without being asked about it earlier in the week. He likes to run that because it helps get him into a rhythm. It certainly did in this game.
7. Thursday night games stink.
I have to agree with the players on this point: Thursday night games aren't good.
As Tomlin said after Sunday's game, all of the players who were injured Sunday are unlikely to play Thursday against the Titans because of the quick turnaround. There's just not enough time to heal after playing a physical game.
8. Marcus Gilbert, welcome back.
The Steelers were 7-for-23 in the red zone without Marcus Gilbert this season. They converted in two of their four trips there Sunday, though the last one was a setup for the game-winning field goal.
Even with that, the Steelers are now 7-for-11 in red zone trips when Gilbert plays right tackle.
9. Brown out, no problem.
Antonio Brown had two receptions for 15 yards in the first 55 minutes of this game, though he had a big 32-yard catch-and-run to set up the game-winning field goal.
But with Brown bottled up by Rashaan Melvin's coverage -- with a lot of safety help -- JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant chipped in some big plays. Smith-Schuster continued his impressive rookie season with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Bryant had three catches for 42 yards and a two-point conversion catch.
Those are the type of contributions the Steelers are going to need to continue to get from those two.
10. Stephon Tuitt, welcome back, as well.
Tuitt returned, which was one reason Butler wanted to get the four-man pass rush going. Tuitt did his part. He had a team-high four hurries and a sack. He also had one taken off the board because of a holding penalty on William Gay.
Tuitt is primed for a big second half.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY